OTTAWA — It took three separate votes and a marathon meeting, but Franklin County commissioners finally agreed Wednesday to allow the Ottawa Co-op to add two large grain storage bunkers at its LeLoup facility at Texas and Reno roads. The needs to add the bunkers for the upcoming fall harvest, said attorney Blaine Finch, who represented the co-op at the meeting. Without the bunkers, the co-op would have to pay to store grain, mostly corn, at storage facilities in Johnson County, he said. However, neighbors objected to the proposal. The expansion at the facility would nearly triple heavy truck traffic in their area, create clouds of dust and strain rural bridges, said Ted Stoneking, who represented his neighbors before the commission. On a split 3-2 vote, commissioners voted to table the proposal two weeks to allow commissioners and county officials time to consider additional conditions. Commissioners Roy Dunn, a co-op member, and Rick Howard, objected to the delay and pressed for a vote. Other commissioners agreed to a vote and decided to un-table it. At the suggestion of county administrator Derek Brown, they moved the matter to the end of the meeting, while Brown quickly worked out the additional conditions with co-op officials and commissioners granted a special use permit. The extra conditions included a more extensive plan for dust control and for the co-op to encourage truck drivers not to drive over-weight trucks over bridges in the area. Neighbors weren’t happy but said it was the best they could expect.
Thursday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m.
